Cory Weeds - With Strings: What Is There To Say? (2021 Cellar Live)

What a perfect time for Cory to give us this album, What is There To Say?, his 18th record as a leader. It's his most ambitious project to date and, in my opinion, his most impressive. Ever since Charlie Parker recorded his iconic Bird with Strings album, the saxophone-with-strings format has become a sort of Mount Everest for those saxophonists brave enough to take on the challenge. Cory has been climbing to increasingly greater heights for years now and he is clearly ready for this ''Everestine'' expedition. Listening to him interpret this carefully curated set of compositions, we really get to know him for the musician he has become: an expressive saxophonist with a unique and personal voice on his instrument. A visceral strength to his delivery on the tenor, while at times exposing a beautifully honest vulnerability as well.

Cory, as he is known to do, has surrounded himself with only the best company. Phil Dwyer's crafty lush string arrangements inspire Cory to search for new and ever more lyrical melodic lines while also giving him ample space to get lost exploring the nooks and crevasses of the music. Cory has compiled some real musical gems here including the somewhat obscure chestnut 1906 Ballad At Dawning (I Love You) while also contributing an eclectic trio of original compositions to round out an extremely enjoyable musical program.

1. At Dawning 05:44

2. Waltz For Someone Special 04:46

3. Alana Marie 06:33

4. I Wish You Love 06:35

5. The Phantom / The In Crowd 06:12

6. Love Is Wild 06:06

7. What Is There To Say? 05:58

8. There's A Boat Leavin' Soon For New York 06:54

Cory Weeds – tenor saxophone

Phil Dwyer – piano

John Lee – bass

Jesse Cahill – drums

Cam Wilson – violin (lead)

Llowyn Ball - violin

Elyse Jacobson - violin

Molly MacKinnon - violin

Jiten Beairsto- violin

Madeline Hocking- violin

Meredith Bates - violin

Andrea Siradze - violin

John Kastelic – viola

Genevieve MacKay - viola

Finn Manniche - cello

Doug Gorkoff – cello

Maggie Hasspacher - bass

All arrangements by Phil Dwyer

Executive Producer: Cory Weeds

Produced by Phil Dwyer and Cory Weeds

Recorded at The Armoury Studios in Vancouver, BC on Feburary 13, 20 and 21, 2021

Engineered by Sheldon Zaharko, assisted by Spencer Bleasdale and Ricardo Germain

Mixed by Sheldon Zaharko

Mastered by João Carvalho

Cover Art by Lori Popadiuk

Photography by Cory Weeds

Design and layout by Perry Chua

PRE-ORDER

New album from award-winning Canadian saxophonist PHIL DWYER / BPM Trio - Audi Alteram Partem (Available March 19, 2021 via Chronograph Records)

Award-winning Canadian saxophonist PHIL DWYER joins forces with his son BEN DWYER and East Coast Drummer MARK ADAM to form their new group the BPM TRIO to release their debut live album

AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM on Chronograph Records

Album available March 19th, 2021

“Audi Alteram Partem” is the legal principle whereby all sides be heard and accorded a fair right to reply. It is most certainly an apt principal central to great jazz, but here also references where Canadian music icon Phil Dwyer was in the fall of 2016.

Dwyer, the perennial award-winner and member of the Order of Canada, was embarking on a distinct career shift. He was in the midst of his law studies in Fredericton, NB and was somehow fitting in concerts here and there on Canada’s East Coast. He brought together this trio of himself on saxophone and piano, his son Ben Dwyer on bass and Mark Adam on drums, for a series of four concerts in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Mark had an inkling that it might be good to bring a small recording rig along so each night, after he got his drums set up, he managed to put up some mics. You know, just in case!

And so here we are, with the evidence of these wonderful concerts – one in Moncton, NB and one in Sackville, NB. Hosted by legendary Canadian trumpeter Roland Bourgeois, the trio played a blend of intimate, fearless, tender, on the edge music. The audience was perfect, encouraging the artists to keep saying what they needed to say. It was a great chance for old friends and new to share some road time and music together. This is the story of three Western Canadian musicians and an amazing home away from home.

1. Summer Night (9:21) - Harry Warren, Al Dubin

2. Bright Mississippi (6:42) - Thelonious Monk

3. Just Open Your Heart (7:12) - Barry Harris

4. Airegin (7:00) - Sonny Rollins, arranged by Phil Dwyer

5. Misty (10:41) - Erroll Garner, arranged by Phil Dwyer

6. My Melancholy Baby (6:35) - Ernie Burnett, George Norton

7. Narcolypso (7:43) - Phil Dwyer

PHIL DWYER (saxophone/piano) Appointed as a Member of the Order Of Canada and a Royal Conservatory of Music Honorary Fellow, Phil Dwyer has appeared on ten JUNO Award-winning recordings, and over thirty nominated recordings.

A practicing lawyer with his own fi rm in Nanaimo, B.C. Phil remains active as a performer, teacher, recording artist, curates “Phil Dwyer’s Jazz Canada” for CBC Radio Music, and is a partner in SeaWind Musical Instruments.

BEN DWYER (bass) is a young bass and saxophone phenom who grew up in a musical household on Vancouver Island. The son of Phil Dwyer, Ben has recently moved to Toronto from Montreal. Though very much rooted in jazz, Ben is a versatile bassist with a strong sense of feel, melody, and sound production. This has led him to perform around the world with some great artists of different genres.

MARK ADAM (drums) is a drummer and percussionist who performs, produces/ records, composes and teaches from his home base in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He is an Associate Professor of Improvisation, Percussion and Contemporary Music at Acadia University who has worked with Canadian jazz icons such as Mike Murley, David Restivo, David Braid and Laila Biali.

Pre-order